REEDLEY — Even though he plays a generally modest role in the Butte College football team offense that doesn”t pass vehemently, receiver Josh Bellamy often still is acclaimed as the Roadrunners” most talented player on that side of the ball.

Bellamy almost also became the most talented Butte player period to make the sting mistake during Saturday afternoon”s State Center Bowl matchup against Reedley that had the Northern California spot in December”s state championship game on the line.

Butte, which had just scored three minutes earlier and then on its own 45-yard line stopped a sustained Reedley possession, was ahead 10-7 with seven minutes left in the second quarter when Bellamy on a fair catch fumbled Tim Cowdrey”s punt at the Roadrunner 5. The Tigers recovered and scored two plays later on an Eric Johnson run to go on top.

“Our return coverage was calling to the right, I took a quick look to make a read and lost concentration a little on the fair catch,” Bellamy said.

Showing the developed maturity some Butte coaches often rave about regarding the second-year player out of St. Petersburg, Fla., Bellamy shrugged off a rather rough big-game afternoon to shine — the fumble, plus a dropped pass in the third quarter on an open look from a perfect delivery by quarterback Ryan Ratekin — to lead the on-field celebration following the victory.

“(The fumble) didn”t bug me because this team was going to win no matter what,” Bellamy said. “We knew a few things would come get the best of us and we knew we could handle any of them.”

3-POINT MISS: Reedley kicker A.J. Forestiere”s missed 27-yard field goal early in the third quarter was the reason Bellamy”s fumble could have been extremely pivotal.

To get to that point, the Tigers opened the second half to drive 69 yards on 14 plays, rush for 43 yards during the sequence (more than their actual second-half total) and could have entered into a situation where a Butte score would merely tie the game 17-17, allowing Reedley to take pressure off the passing aspect of its offense that isn”t a strength.

CATCH HIM: Reedley receiver Teandre Brown, very imposing in appearance at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, was averaging just 42 yards per game before Saturday. Thanks to a group of sizable gains and an 88-yard touchdown reception aided by Butte defensive back Preston Pace”s stumble, Brown finished with 180 yards on five catches.

“I”ve been wanting us to throw the ball more,” Brown said. “In this game, I think we should have also.”

CENTERED: Right guard Etuale Feo moved to center for the second time this season, exchanging spots with Jon Brinkman, to deal with standout nose tackle Terrance Brown. Feo stands 6-5 and 360 pounds, Brinkman is 6-1, 255 and Brown is 6-2, 285.

Notes: Butte got uncharacteristically aggressive on offense, throwing the ball six times among its 14 first-down plays. … Receiver Angel Quial set career highs with three catches for 95 yards. … NorCal Conference defensive player of the year Brandon Rankin recorded his 24th sack of the year and is expected to be OK after briefly leaving the game with a knee concern. … Reedley tight end Ken Paolinelli never returned after staying down on the field for five minutes before slowly walking off on his power in the second quarter. He had two catches for 21 yards, both for first downs. “I thought that hurt us significantly,” quarterback Zach McRae said. “Kenny”s an important piece of the puzzle for us. We had to reshuffle guys to a lot of places they weren”t familiar with on different plays. That”s not an excuse, it”s just hard to ignore.”